McCain, in the middle, says no

Cementing his role as Barack Obama’s critic-in-chief, Arizona Sen. John McCain announced Monday that he’ll vote against Sonia Sotomayor, the president’s pick for the Supreme Court.

Days after Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings ended, McCain told POLITICO that he’d take his cues on the nominee from Judiciary Committee members Sen. Jon Kyl, his colleague from Arizona, and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, his pal from the 2008 presidential campaign.

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But Kyl and Graham split — Kyl’s a no, Graham’s a yes — leaving McCain to find his own way between the large Hispanic population in Arizona and the conservatives with whom he’s increasingly friendly.

He went with the conservatives.

On the Senate floor Monday, McCain said Sotomayor had “again and again” sought to “amend the law to fit the circumstances of the case.”

“Regardless of one’s success in academics and in government service, an individual who does not appreciate the common-sense limitations on judicial power in our democratic system of government ultimately lacks a key qualification for a lifetime appointment to the bench,” McCain said. “For this reason, and no other, I am unable to support Judge Sotomayor’s nomination.”

Conservatives applauded McCain’s decision, even though it won’t be enough to stop Sotomayor from being confirmed.

“If he were to vote for her, it would have made her look more in the mainstream, which I think is untrue,” said Linda Chavez, a conservative leader with the Center for Equal Opportunity.

Hispanic groups were upset by McCain’s decision, especially since he’s been sensitive to concerns of Latinos over immigration reform. Just Sunday, McCain said during a TV interview that the GOP has to do “a lot more” to win the Latino vote, which is the fastest-growing voting bloc in the country.

“I am of the belief that unless we reverse the trend of Hispanic voter registration, we have a very, very deep hole that we’ve got to come out of,” McCain said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Rosa Rosales, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said McCain’s claim that Sotomayor would legislate from the bench “cannot be farther from the truth.”

Added Nan Aron, head of the liberal Alliance for Justice: “It’s ironic that such a longtime defender of presidential prerogative is doing an about-face and voting no on Sotomayor.”

With 60 Democrats — and at least six Republicans — expected to vote to confirm Sotomayor, the only mystery left is the extent of the GOP opposition.

Republicans have been grappling with their own internal politics — balancing the interests of their conservative base against the need to cooperate with a popular new president and win over Hispanic voters. In 2008, Hispanics picked Obama over McCain 67 percent to 31 percent, and Latino youth supported Obama by a whopping 76 percent to 19 percent, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

Four years earlier, President George W. Bush carried 40 percent of the Latino vote.

As late as Sunday, McCain suggested he was still undecided about Sotomayor.

“I’m still going back and forth,” he told CNN. “I voted against her for the appeals court, and I’m examining her record on the appeals court.”

Republicans feared that, if their party’s 2008 standard-bearer voted for Sotomayor, it would have paved the way for Obama to nominate a more progressive nominee if he gets another chance to do so.

“Any Republican who votes for her I think is making a mistake,” said Wendy Long, an attorney with the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network.

For McCain, the risks may not have been huge either way. While Arizona has a large Hispanic population, he is expected to face a relatively smooth ride toward reelection next year.